ABRI aggreable to fewer seats in House
ABRI aggreable to fewer seats in House
JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) accepts a plan to reduce its seats in the House of Representatives from 100 to 75, its chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung said yesterday.
"ABRI feels that 45 seats are enough," Feisal told journalists, after escorting his Chinese counterpart Gen. Hsian Wan Nian, to a meeting with President Soeharto.
But Feisal noted that the issue concerning the military's role in politics should be contained to its seats in the house. "We would not discuss demands to review other laws on ABRI's role," he added.
ABRI, whose personnel do not take part in the general elections, currently reserves 100 of the 500 sets in the house. The remaining 400 are contested by the three political organizations, which are Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono said on Monday that the government is working on a bill to cut the number of ABRI seats in the legislative body.
Feisal, Moerdiono and Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie SM will consult House Speaker Wahono on the bill.
Feisal brushed aside fears that reducing the number of seats will trigger discontent among some individuals in ABRI, whose "dual function" allows it to oversees defense and play politics.
The number of ABRI seats in the house has often come into the spotlight, particularly because the Armed Forces does not take part in the election. It is currently higher than that of the PPP (16) and the PDI (56).
The plan to clip the seats came two months after President Soeharto ordered the Indonesian Institute of Sciences to conduct research on a more suitable electoral system and the appropriate number of ABRI seats in the house.
Moerdiono said that the reduction was necessary because of the "flourishing democracy in Indonesia" and the strengthening national stability.
"If we look at history, in the past, one-third of ABRI representatives in the house were there to secure the state ideology Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution," he said.
A senior member of the ABRI faction in the house, Alief Meliana, said that the Armed Forces representation is still relevant, even though the number of seats can always be reviewed.
He said the representation is vital to channel ABRI's interests in the state's decision-making. "If ABRI is not represented, they (Armed Forces members) may shout from outside of the system."
Faction member Taheri Noor said that it was the people, not ABRI, who in the past, decided to have 100 ABRI members in the house.
"Now the people want the number to be reduced. There is not the slightest intention on the part of ABRI to start militarism in Indonesia, by dominating politics," he said, Antara reported.
The plan, however, received a cool welcome from the minority faction PDI.
"In fact, from the outset, we have proposed that ABRI's seats be cut to 50," PDI senior legislator Sabam Sirait said.
He said now, that all the socio-political organizations in Indonesia have accepted the state ideology Pancasila as their role principle, 50 representatives would be fair.
A statement from the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation stated that the number of ABRI representatives in regency and provincial legislative councils should also be reduced. (pan)